Youth Worker – EDSP (Dorset)

✨Are you passionate about helping to make a difference to children and young people? We’re looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Youth Worker to join us at No Limits✨

No Limits Emergency Department and Social Prescribing (EDSP) team, work across seven main hospitals in Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester, Basingstoke, Isle of Wight, Bournemouth and Poole and we are currently looking for a Youth Worker to join the Dorset team. As a Youth Worker – Emergency Department Social Prescriber (Dorset), you will provide information, advice, and guidance to children, young people and their families admitted to the emergency department through to their discharge back into the community where social prescribing will be optimised to help the young person connect with community support.

Our growing team of Youth Workers are caring, collaborative and courageous professionals, committed to empowering children and young people to achieve positive changes in their lives. Our unique service delivery model aims to support all children and young people. The Emergency Department (ED) Youth Workers have been working with the ‘reachable moment’ when a young person attends ED in crisis, whether that is through violent crime or mental health crisis to help them to start thinking about change. The successful applicant will provide direct support to children and young people, both in the emergency department and in the community. By helping the young person to connect with specialist support and other community services through Social Prescribing. To apply for this post, you must have a passion for supporting children and young people, be a strong communicator and have experience of working with children and young people.

Your key responsibilities will include: 

• Engage and build relationships with any children and young people who have come into the Emergency Department (ED) and may need advice and support to avoid further admissions.
• Work with the young person’s presence in ED as a ‘reachable moment’, providing appropriate support around the issues that have brought them to ED. This may include mental health, self-harm, overdose, substance misuse, being a perpetrator or victim of crime or engaging in risk-taking behaviour.
• Support ED staff with children and young people who are particularly anxious or struggle with the environment.
• Having assessed their ongoing need, link them with further support through referrals and signposting in order to reduce future admissions.
• Provide children and young people with ongoing support, offering information and advice, signposting and referring them to community-based interventions, over an agreed period time (Social Prescribing).
• Working within the YIACS model address the wider practical and social issues that may be affecting a young person’s wellbeing such as relationships, healthy behaviours, sexual health, housing, benefits, attendance and attainment in education.
• Use appropriate tools to measure children and young people’s wellbeing at set points along their journey with No Limits.
• Use this data along with feedback and observation to evidence the impact of interventions.
• With the Lead Youth Worker / Operations Manager, develop and maintain key relationships with hospital staff ensuring that the service is promoted, well-used and adapted appropriately to any changing needs.
• Provide quality up to date information, advice and support which supports young people’s personal and social development and promotes healthy lifestyles.

Please see the job description for further details about the responsibilities of the role.

We are committed to making a difference in the lives of the children and young people we work with, and as such, you must show a willingness to demonstrate commitment to the values and behaviours which flow from the No Limits ethos. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people is paramount.

We particularly welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and those who have had experiences similar to the young people we aim to support. We are committed to creating a diverse environment where people can be their authentic selves, where their experiences and opinions are valued, and we are all open to learning from each other. 

As part of our team, you’ll receive a comprehensive induction and access to learning and development opportunities relevant to your role, supporting your ongoing growth. 

You’ll have the essentials of: 

• Build trusting and supportive relationships with children and young people
• Respect and promote children and young people’s rights to make their own decisions and choices
• Be committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults 

You may also have: 

• Experience in working with children and young people and / or a minimum Level 3 (or equivalent) youth work or other relevant qualification 
• Effective communication, organisational and time management skills
• Confident and able to use Microsoft apps, such as Word, Teams and Excel, and databases
• Working proactively and collaboratively with others; reflecting creativity, adaptability and bringing positivity and enthusiasm to your work
• Commitment to personal growth, and ongoing learning and development

Please let us know if we can support you with any reasonable adjustments at any point prior to, during or after the selection process, such as access arrangements, flexible working, or a suitable place to pray.